The disturbing scene captured on cellphone videos by United Airlines passengers on Sunday went beyond the typical nightmares of travelers on an overbooked flight.

An unidentified man who refused to be bumped from a plane screamed as a security officer wrestled him out of his seat and dragged him down the aisle by his arms. His glasses slid down his face, and his shirt rose above his midriff as uniformed officers followed.

At least two passengers documented the physical confrontation and the man’s anguished protests, and their videos spread rapidly online on Monday as people criticized the airline’s tactics. A security officer involved in the episode has been placed on leave, the authorities said, and the federal Transportation Department is investigating whether the airline complied with rules regarding overbooking.

Tyler Bridges, a passenger on Sunday’s flight who posted a video to Twitter, said in a telephone interview on Monday that “it felt like something the world needed to see.”

By law an overbooked airline can remove passengers (randomly). but the way it was done is ridiculous.

What about the other 3 who were removed but didn't make a scene and left the flight without an issue.. airlines do pay decent money if they bump you off.

I guess in this case not enough people took the offer to be bumped off, the computer randomly picks folks.. but if you had an important event to attend, then it would suck, like a job interview or something.

What about the other 3 who were removed but didn't make a scene and left the flight without an issue.. airlines do pay decent money if they bump you off.

I guess in this case not enough people took the offer to be bumped off, the computer randomly picks folks.. but if you had an important event to attend, then it would suck, like a job interview or something.

the way it sounded, it seemed like he needed to "go home". i guess the details will emerge.

United airlines is the worst. things went down the poop chute especially after their merger with continental. A$$holes are high handed and is the shittiest choice on long haul flights. About time people started taking them to task.

if a paying customer can be treated this way.. i don't know if i would want to give them my business..

United airlines is the worst. things went down the poop chute especially after their merger with continental. A$$holes are high handed and is the shittiest choice on long haul flights. About time people started taking them to task.

if a paying customer can be treated this way.. i don't know if i would want to give them my business..

it's not about overbooking - it's about basic humanity - it's about the service mentality that made corporations in the WEST superior. whatever happened to customer is always right - even when he is not - because he funds your business. when corporations lose sight of this, forget about service to the customer.. and physically abuse customers, that's taking it over the edge

it's not about overbooking - it's about basic humanity - it's about the service mentality that made corporations in the WEST superior. whatever happened to customer is always right - even when he is not - because he funds your business. when corporations lose sight of this, forget about service to the customer.. and physically abuse customers, that's taking it over the edge

“A bakery doesn’t want to have a lot of extra pastries at the end of the day they have to throw out,” said Seth Kaplan, managing partner at Airline Weekly, an industry publication. “To an airline, an empty seat is basically the same thing as stale bread. It’s something they can never sell again.”

That is complete and utter bullshit.

The analogy would be like this. A bakery bakes 100 cookies, but sells it to 110 customers because it knows that some of the customers may not show up on time to pick up their cookies. If more than 100 customers do show up, they reserve the right to deny customers the cookies they bought. On top of that, if an employee is hungry, they get to eat the cookie before the customer who bought and paid for it!

and if they were overbooked they could have done this before allowing people to board. given the hassle of getting on an airplane these days.. it is but natural that passengers who have been given a boarding pass and given a seat and actually sitting at their seat will say no if asked to get off the plane..

and if they were overbooked they could have done this before allowing people to board. given the hassle of getting on an airplane these days.. it is but natural that passengers who have been given a boarding pass and given a seat and actually sitting at their seat will say no if asked to get off the plane..

united is surely paying for this - one way or another..

when they issue the boarding pass, dont they realise that the seat is already allocated? how did they issue same seat numbers to 2 people?!